2008-2009 Houston Rockets: Showing Potential

2008-2009 Houston Rockets: Showing Potential

2008-2009 Houston Rockets: Showing Potential

A tall 7’5” center from China, Yao Ming had been in the NBA for 7 seasons and spent his 8th season with a Houston Rockets team that showed potential of contending for an NBA championship. There was plenty of stiff competition in the Western Conference the Rockets had to deal with, and in the 2008-2009 regular season they went 53-29, finishing 2nd in the Southwest division and 5th in the Western Conference.

Known as “The Great Wall” or “The Dynasty”, Yao Ming had 1,514 total points, 761 rebounds, 137 assists and 150 blocks, averaging 19.7 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. Power forward Luis Scola had 1,044 total points, 720 rebounds and 123 assists, averaging 12.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Acquired from the Sacremento Kings in a trade on August 14, 2008, small forward Ron Artest had 1,181 total points, 359 rebounds, 229 assists and 105 steals, averaging 17.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Artest also made 153 of 383 three-point shots.

Point guard Aaron Brooks had 894 total points and 238 assists while making 113 of 309 three-point shots. Brooks averaged 11.2 points and 3 assists per game. Point guard Rafer Alston, also known as “Skip to my Lou”, made 80 of 230 three-point shots to go along with 258 assists, averaging 11.5 points, 5.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Shooting guard Shane Battier made 91 of 237 three-point shots.

Shooting guard Tracy McGrady appeared in only 35 regular season games as he battled injuries all year. McGrady made 44 of 117 three-point shots to go along with 117 assists.

The most thrilling games of the regular season for the Rockets included an overtime win against the Utah Jazz on December 27, 2008 by the score of 120-115, and an overtime win against the Detroit Pistons on March 18, 2009 by the score of 106-101. Other close wins occurred on January 9 against the Oklahoma City Thunder by the score of 98-96 and on March 22 against the San Antonio Spurs by the score of 87-85.

In the 1st Round of postseason play, the Rockets faced the Portland Trail Blazers, and Houston would win the series 4 games to 2. Luis Scola averaged 16.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 assist per series game. Yao Ming averaged 15.8 points, 10.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per series game. Ron Artest averaged 15.7 points, 4.3 assists and 1 steal per series game. Aaron Brooks averaged 15.3 points and 4.3 assists per series game.

In Game 1 on April 18 at the Portland Rose Garden, the Rockets won 108-81. Brooks had 27 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists. Yao had 24 points, 9 rebounds and 2 blocks. Scola had 19 points and 8 rebounds. Artest had 17 points and 4 assists. For the Blazers shooting guard Brandon Roy had 21 points.

Game 2 would be a different story as the Blazers would win 107-103 on April 21. Brooks had 23 points and 5 assists for Houston while guard and forward Von Wafer came off the bench to score 21 points, and Artest had 19 points and 5 rebounds. However, Roy exploded on the court for Portland as he had 42 points and 7 rebounds. Power forward and center LaMarcus Aldridge had 27 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Now at the Toyota Center in Houston for Game 3 on April 24, the Rockets narrowly won 86-83. Roy had a respectable 19 point and 7 rebound performance for Portland while Luis Scola was the workhorse for Houston, having 19 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. The Rockets then won a 89-88 nail-biter in Game 4 on April 26. Brandon Roy had 31 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks for the Blazers while LaMarcus Aldridge had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Yao Ming remained strong for the Rockets as he had 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Going back to Portland for Game 5 on April 28, the Blazers would win 88-77. Scola had 21 points and 6 rebounds for Houston while Roy had 25 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists for Portland. Aldridge had 25 points and 7 rebounds. Going back to Houston for Game 6 on April 30, the Rockets finished the Blazers off with a 92-76 win. Although Roy had 22 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists and Aldridge had 26 points and 5 rebounds, Artest countered with 27 points and Yao countered with 17 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks.

The Houston Rockets then faced the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals, and for a series average, Aaron Brooks had 18 points and 2.6 assists per game. Ron Artest had 15.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Yao Ming had 19.7 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. In Game 1 on May 4 at the Staples Center the Rockets would win 100-92. Yao had 28 points and 10 rebounds. Artest had 21 points and 7 assists. Brooks had 19 points. For the Lakers, shooting guard and small forward Kobe Bryant had 32 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Center and power forward Pau Gasol had 13 rebounds and 4 assists.

The Lakers responded in Game 2 on May 6 with a 111-98 victory. Artest had 25 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals for Houston while Yao had 10 rebounds. Coming off the bench, power forward Carl Landry had 21 points and 10 rebounds. Kobe Bryant was unstoppable for Los Angeles as he had 40 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists while Gasol had 22 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks.

Returning to the Toyota Center for Game 3 on May 8, the Lakers beat the Rockets 108-94. Artest had 25 points and 6 rebounds. Yao had 19 points and 14 rebounds, but this would be the last game Yao would play as he would suffer a devastating foot injury. Bryant had 33 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks for the Lakers. Foward Lamar Odom had 13 rebounds.

The Rockets came back to win Game 4 on May 10 99-87. Shane Battier had 23 points and 4 rebounds. Aaron Brooks had 34 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. Luis Scola had 14 rebounds. Though Gasol had 30 points and 9 rebounds for Los Angeles, Bryant would be held to just 15 points, 5 assists and 4 steals.

Back in the Staples Center for Game 5 on May 12, the Lakers would win 118-78. Scola had 13 rebounds and 4 assists for the Rockets while Bryant had a better performance for the Lakers, having 26 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. In Game 6 on May 14 at the Toyota Center, the Rockets won 95-80. Brooks had 26 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists while Scola had 24 points and 12 rebounds. Bryant had 32 points, 3 assists and 3 blocks in a losing effort.

In the deciding Game 7 on May 17 at the Staples Center, the Lakers ultimately prevailed with an 89-70, ending a promising season for the Rockets. Pau Gasol had 21 points, 18 rebounds and 3 blocks. Although he only scored 14 points, Kobe Bryant had 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks.

The 2008-2009 season marked the beginning of the end for Yao Ming’s successful career in the NBA as injuries continued to plague him. He would sit out the entire 2009-2010 regular season and then came back to play only 5 games in the 2010-2011 regular season before officially retiring from basketball. However, Yao Ming left a lasting impression of how effective Chinese basketball players can be on the biggest professional stage.